The beads were well made, and uniform in shape and size. The color of the stones was very subdued and rather dull. To the naked eye these do not at all appear like the photograph. However, when I tried to photograph the beads, they seem to be much brighter again than they are to the naked eye.I viewed them both in the sunlight and also in artificial light. The difference is a King to looking at the northern lights with the naked eye compared to a time lapse photograph.